


Hashtag Selfie!

by thatdanishchick (QueerElisabeth)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Anal, Frottage, M/M, a total opposite to loki and thor, also Thanos? don't know her, also i know nothing about mcu Taneleer Tivan, also if you can find the jurassic park reference i'll paypal you 10$, and the nagging wife is hating every minute of it, disclaimer: i have never operated a selfie stick in my life, i love the idea of the gm and the collector being best of brothers, loki and en dwi are in a ridiculously healthy relationship, the collector and the gm are two jokesters 24/7, this fic is the sitcom episode where the annoying relative comes to visit, while loki looks into the camera like he's on the office
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-02 10:32:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13316280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueerElisabeth/pseuds/thatdanishchick
Summary: In which Loki returned to Sakaar after the Asgardians settled down on Midgard. The Grandmaster almost didn’t notice he had left, so no harm done(or whatever you choose to believe, Loki is not a reliable source). They’ve since lived lavishly together, ruling the re-balanced Sakaar with Loki as Prince/Royal Consort, and then comes a day when The Grandmaster’s brother, The Collector, shows up for a visit.





	Hashtag Selfie!

**Author's Note:**

> AN: This fic is best enjoyed if you’ve read a better, longer and more comprehensive fic before it; look for Edgebug’s magnum opus, a story called “(in a special way) we share the same glow”, in which the story of how Loki survived on Sakaar and the building of his and En Dwi’s relationship unfolds - it’s my go-to headcanon for the depth of their relationship, and so I personally use it as the default for everything that has happened before my fic. Except that the endings are a bit different, in mine Loki somehow returns to Sakaar to beg for forgiveness or something, I know, a bit lazy, but c’mon, I just want Prince Loki of Sakaar. It’s not at all needed to understand context, but do yourself the favor of reading that amazing slow burn piece before this crack-y, loosely glued-together fic I have over here.

Loki awoke with a jolt from the bed-springs bouncing him a bit up the air, the cause of which was The Grandmaster shooting up and out of his slumber. 

“What are you -“ Loki drowsily began his sentence, but En Dwi was quicker to exclaim:

“Finally!! It’s today! It’s the day! Oh, it’s today, and there is no time to waste! Loki - Loki!” For some reason, En Dwi only now decided to whisper when he leaned in close to the sleepy figure of Loki. “I’m gonna zoom down and start getting the day ready.” He whisper-yelled as his voice trailed off, becoming more distant as The Grandmaster got out and moved about the room. Loki pulled a pillow over his face to bury it from the sunshine breaking through the now open blinds. 

Breakfast was always served in bed, and now that The Grandmaster finally sat down to eat, Loki could get some answers out of him. They were not even close to what Loki could have ever expected.

“You have a brother? … How?” Loki asked The Grandmaster. He knew that his partner was the last of his kind, the concept of him having a brother was new to Loki. Even when they shared minds, the bond did not show this relation to Loki. But that wasn’t the bond’s nor En Dwi’s fault.

En Dwi stopped sucking on a fruit for a second to answer. “Yeah, but he’s not my brother brother, he’s my, uh, brother by oath. We go waaay back, definitely way before you were born, sunshine.”

“And you know he’s coming to visit today? I thought time worked so arbitrarily on Sakaar you couldn’t keep calendar.” Loki was obviously surprised. The Grandmaster had not spoken of this visit at all before this, probably because he wanted to spring it on him at the last minute for kicks. He loved doing that. Loki was lukewarm about him doing that.

“We’ve got a bond, it’s actually really simple; Last night, I saw him call to me in my dreams, like; ‘En Dwi, my handsome brother, I am in a nearby dimension, is it cool I swing by?’, and I’m like; ‘Uh, yes!’, and I woke up knowing that that’s what’s up. I sense his presence moving closer and closer to Sakaar as we speak. It’s kinda like the bond you and me got, but not anywhere near as erotic.” He winked, or at least tried to. 

Loki began to understand. “So you didn’t even know he was approaching until he was in the vicinity. Makes sense.”

“Exactly! And Taneleer, uh, doesn’t go anywhere, really. He loathes being away from his collection on Knowhere, so it’s very, very special to me that he comes to visit on Sakaar.”

\- - -

It was revealed gradually that this visit really was a whole lot more important to The Grandmaster than Loki could have imagined at first. Hours were spent in The Grandmaster’s private salon as Loki witnessed his twin flame having every limb of his body groomed. Even Loki was softly coerced into getting his nails rounded off, his hair combed in the special way The Grandmaster particularly liked for reasons Loki couldn’t see in the mirror, and having his feet scrubbed down. The prisoners with jobs were ordered to find every bit of string and tinsel and hang it off every ledge in sight. By the end of the arrangements, The Grandmaster turned to Loki, asking;  
“Whaddaya think - is it, y’know, enough?”  
Loki diverted his eyes. “It’s enough. On some plane of existence, I believe.”

And so the hour of truth came nearer, as indicated by En Dwi’s uncontrollable excitement. After all the preparations were in order, the entirety of Sakaar looking like a birthday party was about to commence, The Grandmaster and Loki found themselves waiting in the hangar on the landing strip. The excitement exuding from En Dwi came to a peak when a ship approached in the distance, floating gingerly toward the landing.

En Dwi broke the suspense; “Watch this, watch this,” Loki was startled when The Grandmaster insistingly patted a hand on his shoulder, excited like a small child at winter solstice, “me and Taneleer have this thing, we like to, uh, pretend that we’re mad at each other for some reason whenever we greet, so play along, okay? Like we’re brothers that hate each other, y’know? Oh, stars, it’s gonna be so much fun, here we go…” He rubbed his hands together, smiling wider than Loki has ever seen The Grandmaster do. Loki questioned internally why En Dwi would tell him that to spoil the surprise, when he knew that his twin flame loved to prank and catch people off guard. The ancient being moved in mysterious ways.

In the next moment, En Dwi lightly slapped his own face, trying to relax and make himself look as blasé as possible. He crossed his arms, taking on an attitude Loki has never seen before on him. The ship approached the landing before them, docked, and the hangar went completely silent, the motor apparently turned off.

A ramp slowly extended out from the ship’s door, the expectation rising. At last, the doors parted open, a backlit figure appeared in theatrical clouds of fake smoke. When the silhouette walked forward through the dissipating billows, the image became clearer, and Loki finally learned what the famed ‘Collector’ looked like.

Posing stiffly, the man was clad in a spotted fur coat, otherwise wearing a dark suit with matching shoes, rather Midgard-like in style. His white hair pointed straight up, bushy brows that went with his coiffure were visible above the black tinted sunglasses he had on. From that distance, Loki could tell that he was slightly shorter than The Grandmaster, and he also noticed that The Collector sported a painted stripe down his chin, akin to that of En Dwi’s. From all these first impressions, Loki could tell that they were definitely brothers.

The Collector walked leisurely, his facial expression being that of light disgust and annoyance. It felt like minutes before he made it to the spot right in front of Loki and The Grandmaster. His black-painted fingernails removed his sunglasses at a snail’s pace, uncovering dark, lined eyes pointed directly at his brother. He finally spoke, a tired, dismissive tone: “En Dwi.”

The Grandmaster dramatically cocked an eyebrow at him, copying his tone: “Taneleer. I see you’re looking…” A pregnant pause ensued, as The Grandmaster proceeded to look his brother up and down, before resuming: “… Like you always do.”

Taneleer, squinting his eyes and craning his neck, replied: “And you stole my line.” Loki didn’t know if he could take much more of this. It was like watching a bad school play. He knew one of them was going to break character, he just hoped it would be soon.

“Still collecting, uh, garbage?” En Dwi rolled his neck, embarrassing Loki further. He wanted to hide his face so badly, to look away from the car crashing before him.  
“Again, I could say the same about you.” Taneleer sneers. A staring contest began, the two of them trying to gage who could squint the hardest and longest at each other. Loki wondered if this is what En Dwi and Taneleer seriously thought brothers that despise each other say and do.

Eventually, En Dwi’s lips twitched, his stiff mask broke and he couldn’t help himself from giggling. Taneleer soon followed, and before Loki could blink, both were howling with laughter, patting each other on their backs, then hugging it out for the longest time. 

When they pulled away from one another, The Grandmaster was bubbling with happiness again, back to his usual self. “You sly sucker, that line about - about garbage you shot back at me! Oh, brother, you slay me, you really do. Because I live surrounded by garbage! Classic!” He laughed.

“And you totally stole my opening line! You just get me and what I’m gonna say, I love it.” Taneleer’s wrinkled features were smiling all over now too. When they smiled, they almost looked indistinguishable.  
“That’s because I read your mind, you bozo!” En Dwi was so pleased with himself, he couldn’t stop laughing.  
Taneleer playfully hit him on the chest. “Aw, you trickster! I ‘hate’ you!” Another wave of laughter erupted. Loki felt like he was waiting for something.

When the laughter eventually died down, En Dwi wrapped an arm around Taneleer so that they both stood before Loki like conjoined twins. “Taneleer, I wanted you to come ‘round because, you see, I have a very special person to introduce to you, here he is, it’s my twin flame, Loki Odinson.”

Loki opted for a subtle bow and a greeting, “Pleased to meet you, I -“ but he was more or less interrupted by The Collector, sliding away from En Dwi to make his own signature curtsy, a deep bow of his entire body, followed by a twirl and a dramatic gesture of hands. He got up to look Loki in the eye, “An honor to meet you, Loki Odinson. And I am Taneleer Tivan, but you can also refer to me as… The Collector.” 

Loki smiled politely, hiding the embarrassment. “I implore you; call me Loki. It will suffice.”  
The Grandmaster clapped his hands together loudly, exclaiming: “Wow, we are just getting on like a house on fire over here! But, but - uh, let’s get away from this hangar and move this housefire to more, uh, comfortable quarters, am I right?” The Grandmaster summoned a floating pad to take them away to the Grand Hall. Loki was about to mount it, when The Collector spoke:

“Oh, but wait! I must return to my ship to retrieve…” he paused to wink comedically at En Dwi, “… A couple of completely insignificant knick-knacks, if you know what I mean.” The Grandmaster immediately lit up, his face animated with exhilaration. Loki doubted if it meant what he thought it meant.

When Taneleer chose to, he could be very quick on his feet, so it only took a moment before he reappeared from the ship with his own floating pad in tow. It was loaded with brightly wrapped presents forming a small mountain, neatly stacked, no space wasted. Taneleer’s expression was mischievous, but cheerful, like he couldn’t wait to bring them over. “I got you a few souvenirs!”

En Dwi gasped loudly when he saw the shiny bounty, a hand automatically grabbed Loki’s arm to steady himself. “You did not! Taneleer! That’s - that’s, oh my stars, what is all that! Loki, are you seeing this? I. Am. In. Complete. Awe. You know what you are, Taneleer? And I always say this, you’re a thing that starts with a ‘G’, you know what you are?”

“A ‘geezer’?” Taneleer grinned, infecting The Grandmaster with his laughter.  
“You’re the ‘greatest’! Duh! Come here, you great animal, you!” And so they hugged. And so Loki waited.

\- - -

They eventually arrived in the Grand Hall that was always buzzing with the party-goers of Sakaar, and settled into a lounging area, reserved just for The Grandmaster and his closest companions. The hovering mass of gifts followed them until Taneleer parked it in front of them.

“Oh, I cannot wait another millisecond, En Dwi, you have to open some of these! Starting with, arguably, the best one…” The Collector’s said, and from the top of the wall of parcels, he delicately picked out a rather small one, shoving it at The Grandmaster. 

En Dwi put his drink down on the side-table in order to rub his hands together, a small, chipper sound escaping his smile. “Okay, okay, okay, okay! Let’s see, uh, what could it be, what could it be?” He weighed the box in his hands, shaking it a bit.  
Taneleer couldn’t contain himself.  
“Well, what can I say about it… It’s from Earth, and I know for a fact that you don’t have one already, it’s their newest in technology and it’s. So. Much fun.”

En Dwi undid the bow, then ripped at the holographic wrapping paper to reveal a sleek, white box. Loki knew that The Grandmaster could have easily unveiled the present with a wave of his hand, vanishing the cover with his magic, but the ancient being sometimes cherished the “old fashion methods”, as he put it. ‘Lots of things are more fun to, uh, undress with your own two hands’, The Grandmaster once told him, under a very different circumstance.

En Dwi looked briefly at Taneleer, then at Loki, then back at the simple box. But before he could lift the lid of it, The Collector stood up again, crying out: “I almost forgot! There’s one that goes with it, hold on! Don’t even think about lifting that lid yet!” 

He went around the pile to look for this other gift, while Loki emptied his glass. Taneleer soon returned with another box, a rectangle too, but much longer. 

“Oh geez, Taneleer… You - you just spoil me, y’know, I - so, how do I do with these, do I open them at the same time?“ The Grandmaster was getting more sentimental by the minute, Loki noticed. 

“Ah, I think - I think it’s best you get them both out at the same time.” Taneleer once again installed himself in the armchair, but sat only at the edge of his seat, obviously because he would be getting up many more times.

The wrapping came off the other parcel too, another simple box revealed itself. There was some engraving with the Roman alphabet on this one, but Loki wasn’t quick enough to read it before The Grandmaster lifted the lids off both of the boxes with his two hands, timing it together. 

Inside the smaller one was a slim, golden rectangle with a screen. It had a single button on it in the bottom center. In the larger container was a dark-colored rail of sorts with a small open frame at one end, a handle in the opposite end. 

Loki gradually recognized the shapes. He had seen a lot of Midgardians use the smaller rectangle, that which they called a ‘cell phone’ or a ‘mobile’ in English. Most humans had one to communicate, solve simple puzzles for leisure and document events with. The other device, Loki had no idea what was called. He did know that it involved the cellular phone one way or another, but he could not recall exactly how the humans went about it. 

The Grandmaster was quiet with awe, taking the rail-thing out of its case to inspect it closer, then felt the cellular phone in his hand, looking puzzled, but grateful, throughout.  
“You are absolutely right, I have none of these already! But, oh my, what - what are they for? You gotta help me out here, brother.”

Taneleer had clearly waited for this shining moment. “The Earthlings call the little one here a “phone”, and this other guy over here is a “selfie stick”.”  
“A… Selfie stick? A stick of selfie?” The Grandmaster repeated back.  
“Yes! And the Earthlings like to combine the two devices, like so…” Taneleer gently removed the components from En Dwi’s hands, placing the phone in the small frame at the end of the stick-thing until it clicked into place. 

“And you know what they use it for?” Taneleer was almost about to burst with the thrill of it.  
“I have not the faintest idea!” He turned to Loki, “Honey, do you know what any of this is?”

Loki reached for the thing, receiving it from The Collector. He held it up like he had seen the Midgardians do, saying: “I believe the contraption is used to take pictures. The phone has a function, a program, that allows you to capture an instance. The rod extends the frame of your picture, somehow. I’ve seen it a few times, but I must admit, I have never used one.”

En Dwi looked enchanted. “What is - what is a picture?”  
“It’s an image of time. So you can look back at it and remember the past.”

The Grandmaster’s jaw had all but dropped off his face.  
“What - wh - that is… Wild! Oh, we have to do this. We gotta try this. So how do you get it to, uh, uh, take the picture?”

Loki attempted to turn on the screen, pushing whatever buttons he could find on the gadget. Suddenly, something worked for him, and a symbol of a white, bitten apple appeared on the black screen. It booted up and told him to ‘swipe to open’. There were many small icons inside the phone, lined up like boxes in rows, with a small text underneath. One read “Camera”, which rang a bell for Loki, so he tapped it like he had seen the Midgardians do. The program loaded, then the screen transformed into a mirror, startling The Grandmaster who had been following the progression closely at Loki’s side. 

“You got it! Now, you just look straight into the little hole,” Taneleer pointed to the lens, “and then you press the button right there on the handle!” He cheered Loki on while he positioned the camera on a stick, so that all three were in frame. The Grandmaster still looked perplexed at the instrument. Loki found the button, and the camera emitted a snapping sound; a picture had been taken. Evidently, the first picture ever taken of The Grandmaster. When Loki found the function that allowed him to view the photo, it was shaky and his twin flame looked like he had seen a ghost. Taneleer was the only one doing a wide, blurry smile.

En Dwi held the phone all the way up to his nose. “How - ! I - I look terrified and - and so flat. What a magnificently, strange device! And to think you can document time and, uh, the - the place like that - just incredible.”  
“I’m fairly sure you can take pictures that aren’t as out of focus - do you want to try once more?” Loki asked the two. For the next few minutes, Loki was testing all the ways in which you could make it work, the angles, the lighting, with his companions in tow. Loki had gotten the hang of it, he felt. And it was quite fun.

En Dwi became more and more animated by the wonders of human technology, he even learned the mystic ways of how to use it on his own. He could spend years doing this, and would in fact later on walk around all of Sakaar City, selfie’ing everything. The Grandmaster was more than pleased with his gift.

“And when you’ve taken the picture, you can add a filter and symbols - they call them ‘emoji stickers’ - to it!” Taneleer told En Dwi.  
“A filter? There’s more?” Wide-eyed, The Grandmaster listened to his brother and watched how he found the filter options. The possibilities were seemingly endless.

After much, much photographing and trying out every filter and comically drawn symbols to lay onto the photos, En Dwi turned to Taneleer and, with misty eyes, thanked him for such a considerate and fun offering. 

Loki was in a better mood, and seeing his twin flame so touched by the gesture was a special experience for him. It was possible that it was their soul bound affecting Loki, because he could feel a diluted version of what En Dwi was going through at all times, but maybe it was real empathy. Loki couldn’t tell, and he didn’t care much.

The Grandmaster wiped the corners of his eyes, turning to Loki: “Y’know, Taneleer was, uh, also the one that gifted me my beloved keyboard and mixer, a genuine Midgardian ‘Ya-mah-huh’.” En Dwi pointed with his whole arm to the set across the room. The inscription on it read “Yamaha”. Loki couldn’t say for sure if he was pronouncing it right, it was not like he himself knew all of Midgard culture. 

The Grandmaster turned to Loki again: “He just finds the best things on Midgard, I don’t know how he does it, the genius.”  
Taneleer frowned, then questioned: “Hold on, hold on, hold on: ‘Mid-gard’?”

The Grandmaster threw his hands up in the air. “Oh, my, stars! Pfft! I am so sorry, brother, I should explain; ‘Midgard’ is what the, uh, the - the Asgardians call Earth. So much has happened since last time, I guess I’ve started saying it because that’s what Loki always uses to, uh, refer to the Earth-people and such.”

Taneleer’s friendly expression returned. “Oooh! Of course! And you’re from Old Asgard, yes? I heard that you all moved to Earth, sorry, Midgard, starting a-fresh.” He turned to Loki, now the two of them were looking at him.

Loki didn’t even know himself that the fallen Asgard was now being referred to as ‘Old Asgard’. And that meant Norway’s Asgard was probably ‘New Asgard’. He would hear Thor about that next time they got the chance to speak.  
“I am. But of course, I am here on Sakaar, so not all of us moved to Midgard.” No need to mention that Loki was less Asgardian than The Collector probably knew of.

Taneleer snapped his fingers. “Hey, that’s right! I have got something for you, too. Couldn’t come here, showering En Dwi in trinkets without considering his twin flame. No, no, no.” He went to work, searching for the parcel Loki was astonished to know he would be receiving. Gifts were not something he was used to getting, or even giving. And to think that his twin flame’s brother, on their first meeting, would bring him something? The concept was definitely foreign to Loki.

From the depths of the pile, Taneleer dragged out a very large box, larger than the gifts The Grandmaster had just gotten, combined. He had to use his telekinesis, that he apparently had, to lift it from whence it came, and place it by Loki’s feet.

“I must say… I had not expected this at all. What a generous gesture.” Loki confessed. Taneleer smiled naturally, dismissing him with a wave of his hand.  
“It’s nothing. And I thought I’d make a good impression on you, knowing everything my dear brother has told me about you. We’ll all be seeing a lot of each other in the future.” The Collector sipped from his drink that had been neglected for too long. Loki looked at En Dwi, his kind, smiling face looking back at him. 

He went ahead and used his magic to unwrap the enormous thing. Underneath the bright fuchsia paper lied a row of tomes. 

There were so many, it was basically an entire bookcase worth of volumes. Loki drew nearer, scanned the spines, finding ones he had wanted for centuries. Some were archaic scriptures on seiðr he had never seen before, some contained the lost stories of Asgard. There was no doubt that these would have been hard to attain.

He skimmed the pages to confirm that they really were real, that the books that bore the information he had hoped to procure for so long, were in his hands at last. Loki’s jaw had slowly dropped lower and lower, the more he looked through the gifts.

“En Dwi told me how his library was running short of books that, quote, “challenge my clever, darling Loki”, unquote. And I come across books from all over the galaxy from all the antique dealers I visit. But books don’t interest me much, they don’t exactly fit into my collection, so I hope these are of any interest to you. And there’s more!” Taneleer passed another, much smaller packet to him.

Loki was speechless. So he wanted to unwrap the next one before he could make his reply. The paper came off in the motion of a hand, a transparent vial was revealed before him. It had a bit of dirt rolling around inside of it. Beside the vial was a frame, inside of it a dried up plant had been pressed between the backing paper and a pane of glass. Loki immediately recognized the leaves.

Taneleer started again: “I know this pythoness that collects soil from all of the Nine Realms, and she usually doesn’t sell out of her collection, but that’s what friendships are for. So she agreed to let me have a few grams of her, now extremely rare, Asgardian soil. And I had that frame lying around, just gathering dust, I didn’t even really know what to do with it, but I noticed it was from Asgard, too, that little plant in there…”

If Loki could have had just one more minute on Asgard, the Old Asgard, he would have done anything to bring something from the realm with him. If he could have done it all over again, the list would be endless. But it didn’t matter in the end what it was that he brought, so long as it was from his home. His now former home. 

And here it was; a small vial of dirt, the last remaining part of Asgard’s land in Loki’s possession. The herb was a common plant from Asgard, but it drew him back into a memory.

Running on Frey’s pastures, a golden day in his nostalgic mind. He would often pluck these herbs, rub them between two fingers to inhale the scent of spring, of sunshine-fed grass and fresh air. This dried up specimen would in all probability smell like nothing, even so, Loki was immediately there, back for one last time, the impression was welded into him. He thought he had forgotten all about it. 

Loki didn’t know if it would be wise to excuse himself. He tried to speak, but the tears welling in his eyes held him back. The Grandmaster was of course sensing his distress by now. Loki felt a hand gently squeezing his elbow.

< You’re strong. It’s okay. It’s okay. >

In his mind, Loki heard the soothing voice of his twin flame, who had entered his inner space briefly. The encouragement was enough for him to gain the composure to look up again, first into En Dwi’s soulful eyes, then to Taneleer.

“It’s… more than I could have ever asked for. I recognize the effort it must have taken to obtain these items, Taneleer. You will have my eternal thanks.” Loki genuinely meant it. 

Taneleer smiled wider, then turned to his brother to half-whisper: “Is he a hugger? Or should I go for a handshake?”  
En Dwi tutted, shoulders rising for a half-shrug. “Uh… I think it best, if, uh - you ask him yourself.” 

Loki, who had of course heard everything, he was literally two feet away, decided to extend his hand to The Collector. It was firmly grasped by Taneleer, a warm and loving clench around Loki’s forever-tepid skin.

\- - -

After an adventure in the remaining presents(Taneleer had brought, among other things; robes from planets Loki had never heard of, about a bucket full of En Dwi’s preferred nail lacquer(“I was just about to run out! You are the most considerate, Taneleer, I can’t believe -“) and a selection of vintage compact discs from Earth with the artists ‘Mozart’, ‘Otis Redding’ and ‘Lady GaGa’.), and after a banquet dinner with the people of Sakaar, Loki and The Grandmaster could finally retire to their chambers.

“What - a - day, huh!” En Dwi exclaimed, a loud, pleased sigh following. “I am just ready to claim my jim-jams, if you know what I mean…” 

Loki knew exactly what he meant, because it meant exactly what it sounded like. In the wave of their hands, both were dressed down to night-wear. En Dwi teleported for efficiency, laying himself down on their emperor-sized bed in the blink of an eye. Loki slipped under the plush blanket, laid his tired head on The Grandmaster’s chest, feeling the fingers of his twin flame immediately comb through his locks. Lights went down low, only the minimal, soft, fiery glow of the bulbs in the room lit the two.

“Your thoughts are very loud this evening. They’re practically begging me to listen to them.” En Dwi absentmindedly twirled a ringlet of Loki’s hair on his finger.  
“I thought I’d wait and see when you’d want to talk about it. I swear, I didn’t snoop around your mindspace. So do you want to talk about it?”

The gifts of The Collector had definitely rocked Loki’s cool composure, affecting his mood for the remainder of the day. When he had tried being sociable, fun old Loki, it had come off half-hearted or closed off. Throughout dinner, he practically didn’t speak unless spoken to. 

The images lingered in Loki’s mind. Those of Asgard, of Odin by the coast, of Hela… of Thor leading the Asgardians to their home. All because of a pressed weed and a handful of dirt. 

“You saw what happened to my home. To the entire realm.” The powers of The Grandmaster included sharing memories, sensations and other intangible parts of life, being to being. So there was not a single part of the vivid experience that En Dwi had not seen through Loki. 

“And even though time doesn’t work on Sakaar the way I’m used to, it… still seems so close by. It feels like it’s still happening somehow. Like there’s a universe out there where Asgard is still being demolished… I’m sure that sounds bizarre.” 

En Dwi tutted lovingly. “If I know anything about multiverse theory - and, uh, I think I do, - you should know that’s not a foreign concept to me. At all! It’s not weird, it’s very plausible. The possibility that because, uh, something happened here, in the reality you exist in, that - that it might be happening or have happened in a parallel universe; that’s - that’s multiverse theory.” He briefly gestured with a pointed finger, driving his point home in his own Grandmaster-y way.

“And this whole phantom limb reaction… Remember, it’s gonna stay pretty fresh in your memory for a while. Unfortunately, you gotta give it a few years. In my case, it was maybe… hundreds of thousands. For you, I hope it’ll be less.”

Loki agreed. “My kind do not live for hundreds of millennia. We have to cope a little faster than that.”

The Grandmaster solemnly nodded. “Right. Right… just remember: there’s something you’ll always have, even after your homeworld has been split into tiny - tiny atoms, it’s, uh, that you’ll always have your future ahead of you.”

Loki turned around so he could lie on his back, head still reclining on En Dwi’s torso, now able to look into The Grandmaster’s brown eyes. “I thought I could leave it behind, for now. But today…”

“Ugh, I know - Taneleer, as sweet as he is, he is a bit of an, an insensitive klutz - he just doesn’t always think ahead when he thinks he’s got a great idea - y’know? He can only see the goal; here, the goal, obviously, was impressing you, and so he picks these gifts that might’ve been great in theory. So! So he doesn’t even see the, uh - the - the road he has to take to get there and what kinds of consequences, what can backfire on him - I’m gonna talk to him tomorrow, one on one, he - he needs it.”

Loki would have smiled if he wasn’t so tired. “Don’t lecture him for my sake.”  
The Grandmaster, as usual, did the smiling for the both of them. “I won’t. Maybe.”

\- - -

In the bathing chambers of Sakaar, Loki felt mighty and content once again. It was a luxurious construction of round pools carved from black stone, every bit heated up to a comfortable, balmy environment. Steam rose off the floor, the entire room clouded by a thin, white veil. Taking a bath there was as intoxicating as could be for Loki, he would repose by the lip of the pool, emerged to his bust, his head thrown back, shoulders down, the mouth slack and eyes shut. Nothing could be better.

“Hey gorgeous,” a voice called out, no surprises as to who it could be. Loki had sensed The Grandmaster’s incoming steps long before his announcement.

“You’re looking a lot better, huh?” En Dwi sauntered over, stopping right before his twin flame to sit down with his legs crossed. “How’s the water today? Just kidding, I know how it is - it’s the same every day.”

Loki’s eyelids finally parted, glancing at En Dwi with a dazed look about him. “You look overdressed to be down here in the baths. You must be burning up.”

His wet hands reached out from the dark waters to take a hold of The Grandmaster’s ankles. Loki could now pull himself upwards to be face to face with him, his drenched upper body dripping down on En Dwi’s attire. 

There was a heavy pause of just The Grandmaster’s smiling eyes staring at Loki’s unchanged, tranquil features. En Dwi’s cool hand extended out to slick back a few strands of saturated, black hairs from Loki’s dampened face. His fingers brushed through the locks, finding their resting place at the back of Loki’s head, enabling him to draw Loki closer. “And you look like you know what to do about that, huh?”

The inevitable kiss happened, as Loki’s hands moved to take hold of En Dwi’s upper thighs to keep his body propped up like so, without directly falling into The Grandmaster’s arms. 

With delicate telekinesis, the golden robe started to slip off of The Grandmaster’s shoulders, his sandals slinked away to lie neatly tucked away with the cloak elsewhere. Invisible hands tugged upwards at his sky-blue shirt, prompting En Dwi to raise his arms in order to let it glide above his head, interrupting his and Loki’s contact. 

When the barrier was gone, so was Loki. Rings formed in the water, airbubbles popping on the surface. En Dwi burst out laughing, the prospect of a little game arousing him. “Where could my favorite consort be, oh my, oooh - I better shed all of these pesky clothes so I can look in the water for him, the trickster, the rogue!”

The last articles came off in the flick of a wrist, En Dwi proceeded to slide into the gloomy water, giving Loki what he wanted. The Grandmaster swam, the opposite end being the goal, proclaiming loudly along the way; “What-ever shall I do to summon my dear Loki? Oh, I have forgotten the magic word, the one that he can’t resist, the one he always comes running for, like a cat for his daily cream - oh, if only he could come find me, I’m so alone, here, in these close waters,” he sighed dramatically, until a figure finally rose from the water in front of him, said figure slinging its arms around En Dwi’s shoulders to hold him in a life-or-death-tight grip.

“Shut up, you knew perfectly well where I was,” Loki smiled, touching the tip of his nose to The Grandmaster’s. 

The hands of En Dwi were fast to take a hold of Loki, fingers pressing demandingly into his back. “And you know I love theatrics - and, boy, are you dramatic, and I love it.” 

With a force that wasn’t generated by the kicking of any feet, the pair floated through the waters, eventually softly hitting the edge of the baths with Loki’s back. En Dwi pressed Loki’s upper body down over the rim of the pool, his wrists held firmly down too, all there was for the God of mischief to do was kiss back. That, and grind his bare skin against his partner’s bare skin, their cocks were pressed against one and another, just shy of the water’s surface where they, wet and rigid, were gliding on and off each other as The Grandmaster rubbed against Loki and vice versa. 

It was all good fun, but Loki had other plans. As soon as he could break his lips free, he could breathily ask: “How about we reverse this?”  
His wrists were freed in the subsequent moments. “Oooh - you lead the way, sugar.”

What Loki wanted was to have En Dwi with his back to the wall of the pool, reclining as though he was sitting comfortably in their spectator’s lounge in the arena - with Loki in his favorite seat, the lap of The Grandmaster, his back turned also, making it easy for En Dwi to let his hands roam free on Loki’s chest, abs, everything below the belt, all the best spots.

The Grandmaster was making happy noises at this development, squeezing Loki’s thighs while still able to nip and kiss at his neck. Loki laid his head back, resting it on En Dwi’s shoulder, moaning in relaxation and titillation. In between kisses, The Grandmaster had room to ask: “Tell me how you want it, darling, tell me.”. It was the most frequently asked question of their time together, Loki reckoned. 

“I - I want you to take me from here, like we are right now - slow, please.” Loki managed to reply under his breath, arching his back more into The Grandmaster’s touch. The Grandmaster’s cock was having its own life, being half-squeezed between Loki’s lower back and his own underbelly, but a hand brought it out to sit more comfortably right at Loki’s entrance.

One of Loki’s personal favorite, and most under-appreciated, magic techniques was that of conjuring lubricant anywhere he wanted. Even with them being under water, the well would never run dry. There was no hesitation from The Grandmaster’s side to enter, though he did slowly, as per Loki’s request. 

And slow it was - sort of En Dwi’s specialty, going achingly slow, even when he knew that Loki’s definition of ‘slow’ was, on most days, just a single gear down from what ‘rough’ was. Soon enough, Loki was growing impatient, he decided to take control and start riding En Dwi himself. All The Grandmaster could do now, was take care of Loki’s aching cock, pumping him to the pace he set for them. It got a well-deserved moan out of Loki. 

“You like that, that way I’m - mmh, - I’m touching you, this - this - ah, Loki!“ The Grandmaster never knew how to finish sentences while fucking, so Loki didn’t bother answering. He was absorbed in the motion of the moment, anyway. Still, the incohesive babbling of The Grandmaster was a part of it, Loki couldn’t deny that it strangely turned him on to listen to En Dwi’s low, honey-soaked voice talking about anything, didn’t matter if it was politics or how good his cock was feeling in Loki’s ass. Especially at the moment, when En Dwi could purr directly into Loki’s ear all while he straddled The Grandmaster and lead himself up and down on him. And with the addition of a hand tightly working him tip to base, Loki had a pressure steadily building inside him. It was all on track.

But the interruption of a voice calling out among the fog had Loki nearly scream, and not in pleasure. 

“There you are, brother! I have been looking all over for you!” Taneleer was standing mere feet away, wearing his fur garb even in the sweltering heat. “I have a very important question to ask you; do you have Wi-Fi, and if so, what is your password?”

The shock made Loki tense up, unable to move for a few moments. That wasn’t helped by the fact that En Dwi was carrying on like nothing had happened. His embrace around Loki was now suffocating, every instinct in him told Loki to get out of touching-distance. But he first needed to defrost from the shock, all the while his twin flame was tenderly thrusting into him and caressing him.

“Oh, hey! Didn’t sense you at all there, Taneleer, I guess I was kinda busy! What is a Wi-Fi, and why does it require a password?”  
Loki, now ghost white in the face, finally managed to process it all and swiftly slid En Dwi’s hands off of him, making himself able to lunge forward and out of contact. He couldn’t think of anything but to hide, just hide, anywhere, from the eyes of the brother of his twin flame, who had now seen them fuck, oh, fuck, Loki could only think of submerging his embarrassed body entirely, disappearing in the shallow water. 

Soon after, the muffled voices of The Collector and The Grandmaster seemed to quiet down. From under the water, Loki could hear the muted footsteps of Taneleer moving away. Yet, he didn’t want to come up again. He could stay down there until he no longer felt like harming himself or others from the humiliation.

Even when En Dwi approached, diving down to see him, Loki shut him out, ignoring his pleading eyes. But he eventually had to get up for air.

All the while Loki stomped down the corridors of the Tower, clad only in his bathrobe and the excess water dripping from him, he would not speak nor acknowledge the existence of The Grandmaster, who had dressed in the wave of a hand and was following him calmly, uttering pleas of forgiveness along the way. 

Back in their chambers, the only thing Loki could only think of doing was slipping under the covers of the bed, laying down very still and unresponsive. But The Grandmaster was, as always, an unstoppable force, sitting down right beside him on the bed, a hand reaching out to reassuringly rub his shoulder.

“Loki, Loki - I am really sorry, you gotta know that. I probably would have said something if I had been aware Taneleer was coming over like that! That’s a no-brainer. But please say something, whatever I can do to make it up to you.”

No reply. With his back deliberately turned to The Grandmaster, Loki stared blankly out the room. But, to En Dwi’s advantage, when words failed, Loki’s thoughts spoke volumes.

“Oh - Okay. I hear you. That’s fair. But if you want me to return, just - just, uh, think really loudly of me, okay? You know the drill.” And En Dwi vanished before Loki could curse him out in his mind any further.

\- - -

Loki really didn’t see The Grandmaster until later in the day when he had sufficiently cooled off, gotten dressed and decided to channel En Dwi in his thoughts, who appeared in the same instance. He was holding a handful of documents, making Loki remember something about a council-meeting happening right about then. 

The Grandmaster tossed the loose stack over his shoulder, smiling benevolently as he walked to sit down beside Loki on the sofa. “Hey, buttercup - how was your day in bed?”  
Deadpanned, Loki cut to the chase: “I forgive you. Even though it was a most humiliating experience. And I don’t think I will ever be able to comprehend how normal it seemed for you, having your brother walking in on you, doing…” Loki trailed off. 

“I mean, for - first of all,“ En Dwi held up an educational finger, “he’s not my brother brother. He’s my brother. So we don’t have that pesky, uh, blood bond that makes it awkward to, like, uh, see each other naked and such. Now, if he was my brother brother, ah,” his face contorted into an expression of comedic disgust, “- yikes, am I right? Second of all… No, wait, I don’t think I have a second-of-all. That’s the whole thing. Yeah.”

Loki still felt puzzled. “Speaking as a person with a brother, who is not actually related to me, I could never see a scenario in which … we could share on that level.”

“Oh, but wait! That was the second-of-all I had that I forgot, okay, so; it’s not like I’ve known Taneleer since we were kids, and, uh, it’s different that way. We weren’t raised to - y’know - believe that we were real brothers…” at the pause of the sentence, Loki unfortunately could feel how much he related to it. Though it did help him understand. “I think that’s where the difference lies, if I gotta be honest.” 

Loki still felt like it was undoubtedly bizarre and unachievable. And imagining having such a relation to Thor made him shiver all over. 

“But, I feel you, of course, and I will never let this happen again. I think I oughta have two big talks with Taneleer now - the number is racking up, huh? He’s gotta understand that there are new conditions at play, and we can’t keep pulling the same old shenanigans for eternity. If you don’t change, you’ll stagnate, that’s what, uh, I always say, y’know?” En Dwi’s arm had discreetly snaked up behind Loki while making his reply. Loki didn’t mind. He almost wanted to encourage it, a subtle smile finally graced his face, though he couldn’t bear to look En Dwi in his persuasive eyes.

“Aw, look at you, all shy - I know, I know, I’m an embarrassing, archaic ignoramus. It’s a miracle that you forgive me.” En Dwi’s hand lightly stroked Loki’s nape, making him smile wider from the tickling sensation, and not from the embarrassment. When Loki could look The Grandmaster in the eye again, he leaned in very close, stopping for just a second before landing a kiss on his twin flame. In that one second in between, Loki uttered: “Ignoramus.”

\- - -

Loki didn’t bother asking anyone how many days The Collector was planning on staying. After a handful, he started to assume it would be a week, tops. Not that time was a binding factor on Sakaar, a week was as flexible as a month there. 

Taneleer had been there for what felt like a month and a half. And yet in that seemingly long time, Loki had not once spent a lapse of time alone with Taneleer for long enough to maybe talk to him. Just get to know him beyond than what he knew through En Dwi, who always either stayed by Loki’s or Taneleer’s side, making it complicated for Loki to ever get to The Collector alone. As a social creature, Loki wanted that connection. But he would have to wait until one afternoon in the Tower.

Loki thought he would be alone, but upon entering his and The Grandmaster’s chambers, he noticed a dark, feathered figure sitting in the white lounge-corner. The Collector, wearing his plume coat, looked like he was in a contemplative mood. His inky eyeglasses shielded his eyes, but he was definitely looking down, as his neck bent over as though in prayer. Everything about him said: ‘Approach with care’.

So Loki did. “Hello. I was not expecting you to be up here. Are you waiting for En Dwi?” Loki tried. He was genuinely confused as to why Taneleer had let himself in to what was probably the only truly privately kept part of the Sakaar Tower.

His neck craned to an upright position, turning to look at Loki. “No. I was hoping to see his illustrious consort. That’s you.” He replied with a deadpan expression.

A sensation of deja vu rolled down Loki’s spine uncomfortably. He would have made a face of mild disgust, hadn’t he good manners. Was there a small chance that Taneleer was… Courting him? In previous, similar situations, it mostly ended like so for Loki. He mustered a dry laugh, hoping it was a sort of joke.  
“And why would you seek out my company, specifically?” Loki crossed his fingers he wouldn’t say something slimy in return.

Luckily, that wasn’t the case. “I have an apology to make.” Taneleer removed his sunglasses in a slow manner, as per usual. “The items I gifted you when I first arrived, they were rather inconsiderate. I disregarded the sensitivity of your circumstances.”

Loki could now chuckle whole-heartedly and sit down beside him on the sofa. Although he found it odd that he would bring it up so long after the ordeal with the gifts happened. “I take it you’ve been scolded by your brother. Believe me, it was all his plot. He can be so protective.”

“Hear me,” Taneleer looked into Loki’s eyes with intent, with sincerity. Even with loss. “I know the ache that comes from losing every material thing you hold dear.”

Loki’s brows frowned at the cryptic nature of his words. He was implying something that couldn’t possibly… Why would he entrust such information to Loki? 

In the next moment, The Collector leaned in closer. Loki thought he would stop somewhere halfway but he kept getting nearer his face. Loki was about to limbo his way out of what he feared could have been an unwanted kiss, but something held him there, waiting to see what in the Hel he was doing. 

With the lightest pressure, Taneleer held his forehead to Loki’s and in a moment that didn’t exist in real time, his experiences translated into Loki’s consciousness, a particular memory was plucked out for him to see:

A rampage in a small compartment, jars of glass falling everywhere, an eruption of fire spitting metal, liquids, wood in every direction. The violent shockwave hit Loki, as it had hit Taneleer, the sensation of falling over, of heat grazing over him, the horrendous loud noise of everything bursting at once. Loki had no sense of what was in the jars, in the compartments, in the room splitting apart, but he felt an intense kinship with them, as though he had worked his whole life to achieve…

Because he was taken off guard, Loki could take no more of this sensory assault, he used all his strength to resist and pulled away.  
He was back in the sofa, in the lounge, Taneleer before him, good. Good. It hadn’t been real. Loki felt sweat dampen his forehead. He wiped it with the back of his hand, shielding his eyes for a second. When he looked at The Collector again, there was only loss to be seen on his face.

“You know. You really know what it’s like. It wasn’t just an empty empathic statement.” Loki now felt more relieved than anything, only residual panic was left from the experience.

“And you know what En Dwi went through by now, I bet. His is a much different type of episode, at least from mine. Yours, not so much. I can see why you found each other.” Taneleer said. They had finally reached a real level of contact, Loki now knew.

The corner of The Collector’s lips tugged upwards into a tight twitch of a smile. “We lost a lot of things, even places. But we have our brothers, real or not. Right?”

Something occurred to Loki that kept him from reciprocating the smile. “Speaking of brothers… You have told En Dwi what happened with your collection? If not, you’re entrusting an awful lot of information to the wrong person.”

A pregnant pause fell over them. The Collector’s gaze shied away, guilty. But a final statement did escape him at last. “I hate to see him go through any more.”

Loki wanted to be empathic, to be understanding to a man who had lost his entire collection that he built his life around. Yet he couldn’t grasp why he now was the one burdened with the knowledge of a very painful time in Taneleer’s life. Especially when they barely knew each other. It was an odd thing to do. To share.

“So he finds out through me, when you’re long gone.” Loki said with a chilly tone. But he understood. And Taneleer nodded, looking almost remorseful with the knowledge of what he was doing.

The doorway parted in twain, The Grandmaster appeared, a bottle of FireBall(the Sakaaran strong brew that people would set fire to before drinking) in hand, a grin on his face, arms wide open. “There you two are!” 

He walked to the two silent figures. “Funny, I, uh, couldn’t sense either of your life-forms until just now, it honestly scared the bejeezus out of me. Anyway, now you two are here, a drink will be in order -“ En Dwi conjured from thin air three flute glasses in his free hand, setting them down on the lounge table. 

Loki searched Taneleer’s face for an explanation. Had he really cloaked their forms with magic for a lapse in time just so they could be alone from The Grandmaster for a while? It was… Exactly the type of thing Loki would’ve done.

“Brother, I have news to impart on you,” Taneleer reached out for En Dwi’s golden sleeve, “this shall be my last evening with you for now. I need to return to Knowhere, urgently. I know time is not a factor for you, but it is for the rest of the universe, and so I must depart.” He made big eyes at En Dwi throughout, more or less genuine. 

En Dwi was silent for a beat. But he came through unscathed; “Well! Then! We shall, uh, drink to your honor, and - and courteous visit. And safe journey! We can drink to all of that! Don’t give me those sad, dark eyes, you know I can’t look at them without crying too.” 

The Collector got his way. Loki held his peace. The Grandmaster poured three glasses to the brim.

\- - -

In the hangar, The Collector was having his ship prepared for the journey home, while The Grandmaster and Loki stood by to oversee the procedure, and to make their goodbyes. When The Grandmaster got the update that all was in order, he approached Taneleer. Yet he didn’t make first contact. Ever since he got Taneleer’s news that he was leaving, En Dwi had been a little moody, less talkative.

“I must be off. En Dwi… It was a visit of a lifetime, all thanks to you.” He turned and extended a hand out, “And to you, Loki. I am pleased we had the chance to meet, and to talk.” Taneleer’s eyes would have visibly twinkled if they hadn’t been shrouded under his usual sunglasses. Loki had nothing to add. Out of spite? Perhaps.

The Collector then pulled his brother aside by the elbow, just enough to turn their backs to Loki. Taneleer spoke to En Dwi in a language that Loki’s Allspeak could not translate.  
For a minute, they went back and forth in calm tones, ending the conversation with a loving double handshake, both turning to look at Loki again. The Grandmaster slipped his hands from The Collector’s and returned to Loki’s side, observing Taneleer as he walked to his ship. All was quiet besides the hum of the motor and the whoosh of take-off when the ship went airborne, and so Taneleer went his way.

The Grandmaster sighed like he was reminiscing on some nostalgic memory. “He really likes you, Taneleer. He told me he was afraid it wasn’t coming off that way.”

Loki had no facial reaction. “I don’t know if I should hate him or make allies with him.”

En Dwi looked at Loki, a warm smile. “You’re so funny when you make dark comments like that. Come on, let’s go play some checkers.”

\- - -

A day passed. It had become what Loki considered midnight on Sakaar, not that a watch could tell him that. He returned to the royal chambers from an engagement with some of the few other entities he could confide in on Sakaar. 

The entire floor that he and En Dwi had for themselves was bathed in the bluish darkness of the night. Yet there was a sign of life, mainly a tune coming from deeper within the apartment. But also because Loki could sense that The Grandmaster was within reach, he instantaneously knew he wasn’t alone. He followed the melodic trail.

Sure enough, The Grandmaster was plinking a ditty on his keyboard set. By the tone of it, it was melancholic. A Blues melody, like the Midgardians would have called it. 

Loki knew it wasn’t just for show. There was an undercurrent inside En Dwi, Loki could sense it. He approached, leaning by the window beside The Grandmaster. It was as though En Dwi hadn’t even noticed him yet, still plinking away at the keys to make morose little synthetic beats.

“Do you want to come with me to bed?” Loki tried. The Grandmaster straightened his back a little, still not looking up from his hands playing away.

“Taneleer. You haven’t been able to stop thinking about anything else all day. I couldn’t help it this time, I - I snooped, okay? My bad. I know why not to poke about other people’s heads, it’s for situations like this. When you learn about how - “ En Dwi finally stopped playing, “how your own brother, how - how he can’t even own up and tell you what’s happening in his life!” En Dwi laughed, lowly, bitterly. “And he - he lays this on you! You! You, of all people.” He pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers in frustration. “He’s an ox! A clumsy, big, insensitive ox. A cowardly ox, is what he is. And he did that to you.”

Loki walked up to stand beside him. Was there anything of meaning he could say?  
“If you’re concerned for my mental well-being, don’t be. Not in this case, at least. I blame him, but I don’t blame him entirely. Despite the gracelessness of the gesture, Taneleer said he did this to… Lessen the blow. You’ve taken too many hits. Suppose that’s his way of being protective.”

En Dwi removed his hand from his face, looking at Loki with his kind eyes. “And you haven’t taken enough hits for a lifetime? This - This is why I say he’s an idiot ox.” 

A beat of silence. Resigned, En Dwi’s eyes lowered. He laid a hand on Loki’s shoulder, taking them through the mystic arts of teleportation to their bed’s side. “I shall go to bed upset. Thanks a lot, Taneleer.” With an vexed flick on the wrist, The Grandmaster was underneath the covers. 

Loki didn’t know why, but he dressed down in the traditional manner. By the time his vambraces hit the floor, The Grandmaster was casually watching his motions. Loki laid himself down so that he was lying close, face to face with En Dwi, taking his hands into his. 

Through the bond, Loki wordlessly appeased his mind. Words could be so unnecessary, which was a lot said for the God who was often referred to as ‘silvertongued’. With En Dwi, they were unnecessary at the right times.

Peace fell over them and En Dwi’s undercurrent more or less dissipated with time. His brown eyes went from being glossy with wrecking emotion to being back to normal, as Loki could tell from not tearing his gaze off of them. The Grandmaster sighed as though he was letting go of it all.

“Brothers, huh? Idiots, the lot.” Loki could lighten the mood now, knowing that En Dwi had rebalanced. He even giggled at the comment.

“You betcha they are! The times me and Taneleer clashed, hoo boy, the things we’ve been through. That’s at least how I know we’ll get through this. It can always be worse.” The remark might have sounded grim in subject, but The Grandmaster’s tone was his normal, giddy self.

Loki smiled wholeheartedly. “So even you and Taneleer quarrel from time to time? If you dismiss this instance, you two seem like some sort of perfect storm together.”

“Oh, if Taneleer and I ever fell out of favor with each other? You can bet we did! Oh, you should have seen us about 13… No, wait, 14 millennia ago, we had a couple of centuries where we just did not talk to each other. Boy, was I mad at him, and he at me. But, after some radio silence and finally deciding that that didn’t work, we found neutral ground and, y’know, talked about it. It took a while. But that while was worth it, because here we are, better together. Sometimes you have to believe it’s gonna happen, that - that someday you’ll figure it out, if you keep trying everything, something’s gotta stick. And we have a great foundation for our friendship. We had known each other for so long already, it was almost impossible to imagine a future where we weren’t best of friends. If that foundation is unshakeable, there’s almost no way it won’t get better someday.”

Taking the words to heart, Loki became silent. He didn’t have to say a thing to show his agreement. Nor his feelings behind the curtain that was that silence. He simply bestowed his brother a thought before shutting his eyes, emptying his mind. En Dwi kissed his forehead goodnight.


End file.
